4MO!

So much development in one month! It's just so fun to watch him grow and learn.

Parker's added a new sound to his conversations now, a clucking of the tongue. And he has become quite the hand chewer. He wakes himself (and us) in the night chewing and sucking on his hands! His voice is becoming louder and stronger all the time now. He's still reaching for things, which is becoming more and more coordinated, but not quite grasping anything just yet. I'm not worried about this as technically he's only 2.5mo, and grasping doesn't start until around 3mo. But he does notice his own hands now, and more often than not.

Our chats have become much more interactive, with definite eye contact and him stopping to listen to me and then responding. He even started to reach up for my face and touch my cheek, or my nose or my mouth. It was so sweet! He was concentrating so hard too:

He's also started this adorable belly beating when he gets excited (like Tarzan beating his chest, but his belly instead). It's too funny.

Now he notices my phone hen I try to get pictures of him, so it's harder to capture certain moments. And he has started looking at the TV when we're watching it! That could become a problem, so when I'm home with him I am now leaving the TV off more often than not.

Physically, and this may be TMI, his poops are practically silent now! I still remember the forceful explosions we would hear 3-5 times a day. Now we sometimes hear him maybe pooping, and even then we're wrong half the time. On a good note, though, he's spitting up less and less. The sphincters in his belly are starting to become stronger, and so hopefully this means his preemie reflux is on it's way out the door!

And being a preemie, I often forget that he's really six weeks younger than his actual age. So, things you'd expect from a four month old, we won't actually see for another six weeks or so as he's technically only 2.5mo (as mentioned above). Despite that, he's growing so well, almost 12lbs (50th percentile) and 24" long (90th percentile)! This puts him right on track developmentally.

I so want to just treat him like a regular baby, to forget that he was a preemie, but it is something I have to keep in mind as he grows and develops.

And we love watching him grow and change. I just hope we're doing an okay job helping him develop appropriately!

Because we got a lotta love to give.